- Joined
- Mar 12, 2006
- Messages
- 2,608
- Car
- Mini Cooper S, BMW M140i
This isn't a for sale ad in disguise, BTW, more a request for comments.
In a couple of months (actually August 1st), I'll have had the SLK 6 years, an eternity by my standards. I bought it at 4 years old with just 11K on the clock, and it's been used sparingly in my ownership - it's a bit of a garage queen TBH. By the time it hits its 10th birthday in September, it'll probably just be rolling over 34,000.
Although it needs a little tidying - it's got the odd paint chip and a few scuffs on the alloys - it's a low mileage AMG that with a little bit of fettling should still return decent money. So why am I thinking of selling? Although I still like driving the car, and that V8 always puts a grin on my face whenever I floor the throttle, I've come to the conclusion I just don't need it any more. It's too fast for real world use - an SLK200 would do just as well day to day. I loved taking it to Goodwood the other month but that's the only time you can really stretch its legs, and it's a bit of an expensive day out.
The other justification I had for keeping the car was that our little one (a Fiat Panda) wasn't really up to long journeys, and indeed it was a pain - literally and figuratively - to sit in for more than an hour or so. The Panda went a month back and its replacement, the Ypsilon - although ostensibly a city car - seats 4 grown ups in reasonable comfort and cruises happily at motorway speeds.
So should I sell the SLK, and if so what should I get to replace it? I can still justify having a second car on the grounds that a) Mrs. Gaz needs the little car for work occasionally, thus leaving me without one, and b) I like cars and can afford to run two, so bugger it, it's my money.
My thoughts are:
1. Porsche 911. I've always wanted one, and I really thought about this before I bought the SLK but TBH I think the arguments still stand. For the same money as the SLK I'd only be able to buy one that's older, with more miles on and it wouldn't be any faster.
2. Classic. I love cars and would love to have a classic of some sort in the garage. As it wouldn't be the main driver, I can live with the fact that it may need TLC. The trouble is now, anything over 20 years old is a "classic" and prices have quite frankly gone stupid. The bubble's got to burst sometime IMO, and when it happens a lot of people are going to get caught out.
3. Snotter. There's something quite liberating about having a car you don't care about. I'm thinking something barge-like, an old Lexus LS/BMW 7 series/Jag XJ. If it goes disastrously wrong leave it by the roadside and get the train home..
What to do?
Cheers,
Gaz
In a couple of months (actually August 1st), I'll have had the SLK 6 years, an eternity by my standards. I bought it at 4 years old with just 11K on the clock, and it's been used sparingly in my ownership - it's a bit of a garage queen TBH. By the time it hits its 10th birthday in September, it'll probably just be rolling over 34,000.
Although it needs a little tidying - it's got the odd paint chip and a few scuffs on the alloys - it's a low mileage AMG that with a little bit of fettling should still return decent money. So why am I thinking of selling? Although I still like driving the car, and that V8 always puts a grin on my face whenever I floor the throttle, I've come to the conclusion I just don't need it any more. It's too fast for real world use - an SLK200 would do just as well day to day. I loved taking it to Goodwood the other month but that's the only time you can really stretch its legs, and it's a bit of an expensive day out.
The other justification I had for keeping the car was that our little one (a Fiat Panda) wasn't really up to long journeys, and indeed it was a pain - literally and figuratively - to sit in for more than an hour or so. The Panda went a month back and its replacement, the Ypsilon - although ostensibly a city car - seats 4 grown ups in reasonable comfort and cruises happily at motorway speeds.
So should I sell the SLK, and if so what should I get to replace it? I can still justify having a second car on the grounds that a) Mrs. Gaz needs the little car for work occasionally, thus leaving me without one, and b) I like cars and can afford to run two, so bugger it, it's my money.
My thoughts are:
1. Porsche 911. I've always wanted one, and I really thought about this before I bought the SLK but TBH I think the arguments still stand. For the same money as the SLK I'd only be able to buy one that's older, with more miles on and it wouldn't be any faster.
2. Classic. I love cars and would love to have a classic of some sort in the garage. As it wouldn't be the main driver, I can live with the fact that it may need TLC. The trouble is now, anything over 20 years old is a "classic" and prices have quite frankly gone stupid. The bubble's got to burst sometime IMO, and when it happens a lot of people are going to get caught out.
3. Snotter. There's something quite liberating about having a car you don't care about. I'm thinking something barge-like, an old Lexus LS/BMW 7 series/Jag XJ. If it goes disastrously wrong leave it by the roadside and get the train home..
What to do?
Cheers,
Gaz